Burnt Out Barista

I clock in at three o’clock. The morning rush is still going on. I just ran from one side of the campus to the other, where my work is located. My class ended thirty minutes before. I am out of breath and scrambling to find some air left in my enlarged lungs. I have not even had lunch, had classes back to back, and expected to put in seven hours. I am the barista in an old t-shirt with bleach stains, poorly dyed hair, and jeans that have been stretched out for years serving all the girls in their tennis skirts and the boys in their jerseys, making caramel lattes and large iced coffee. The choice of milk varies from person to person. Some may choose creamy almond; some may choose light-colored oat; some may take a risk with heavy whole milk. I prefer sweet soy milk, having that sweet vanilla aftertaste running through my tongue like a river after hard rain but who in the hell listens to a twenty-five-year-old autistic, queer barista who is in her final semester of college? The first couple of hours go by fast like a cat during their zoomies, but then the night comes in, which is the slowest time of the day. The day is that train in the city that has been going at a fast pace all day and eventually slowed down, even stopped in the middle of the city. That means I have to clean the store from top to bottom, restock the cups, restock the coffee beans, shut down the food station, make iced coffees, and hope no one decided to do a large food order fifteen minutes before close. One good thing about working here is that we get to kick people out when it closes, but there is still more to be done. I have to slave away and make sure my boss has everything she needs in the morning because she is a micro-manager who sees every detail artistically. She is a famous artist who wants to finished product to be perfect, as running one of the most popular coffee shops in the city is her medium. I hear all the college students having fun on campus while I have to be stuck here slaving away before going home to finally start my homework at ten o’clock. At least I get free coffee, though.